A rights advocacy group
says three sons of
prominent Nigerian Shia
cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim
Zakzaky, were killed in
the recent massacre of
members of the Shia
community in northern
Nigeria.
In an interview with
PressTV on Saturday,
Massoud Shadjareh,
with the London-based
Islamic Human Rights
Commission (IHRC), said
three sons of Zakzaky
were killed in the
Nigerian army’s attack
on the cleric’s house
last weekend.
Shadjareh said “we had
the release of over 50
women and children,
including the daughter
of sheikh Zakzaky… but
the sad news that the
daughter gave was
that three sons of
Zakzaky were killed in
the attack on the
house.”
“”Nigeria’s top Shia cleric,
Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky
On December 12,”””
more
than a dozen people
were killed
after clashes erupted
between the Nigerian
army and Shia Muslims
in Zaria, Kaduna
State. The military
accused the Shias of
attempting to
assassinate the chief
of the Nigerian army
staff. Nigerian soldiers
opened fire on the
people attending a
religious ceremony at
Hussainiyyah
Baqeeyatullah, a
religious center
belonging to the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria
(IMN).
One day later, the
revered Nigerian cleric
and his wife were
arrested during a raid by
the army on his
residence and
the buildings connected
to the Shia community
in the city. Local sources
said hundreds of people
trying to protect the
cleric were killed.
Nigerian officials
refuse to comment on
the whereabouts of
Zakzaky. His other son
said on December 16
that the family has not
been able to contact
the cleric since his
arrest. The IHRC said on
the same day that
there was credible
evidence of mass
graves in Nigeria
following the deadly
attack on Shias.
The rights group, which
put the toll at over
1,000, said the Nigerian
military had secretly
buried hundreds of
bodies in the graves
after storming the
house of the Shia cleric.
Zakzaky had also lost
three other sons in the
summer of 2014 during
clashes between Shias
and Nigerian soldiers on
the International Quds
day.
Sheikh Sadiq Mehdivi 